The present invention relates generally to wind indicators for sailboats, and more particularly to a flashlight mounting apparatus for improving the visibility of the wind indicators in dimly lit conditions.
Wind indicators that are intended to assist a skipper in trimming the sails of his sailboat for the purpose of harnessing the power of the wind are well known. These wind indicators can include jib telltales, mainsail telltales, draft telltales, leech telltales, and windexes.
Each telltale typically is a length of yarn or ribbon that is attached to a portion of the sail. Ordinarily, a series of telltales are attached to the sail along the height of the sail. For example, three jib telltales can be respectively attached to a jib at one quarter of the jib""s height, half of the jib""s height and three quarters of the jib""s height. However, more or less than three telltales may be attached to different portions of the jib or various other sails as desired.
The telltales are intended to indicate whether the wind-flow across the sail is a laminar flow or a turbulent flow. Specifically, the telltales indicate a laminar flow when the telltales flow generally straight backward and conversely a turbulent flow when the telltales do not flow generally straight backward. A person of ordinary skill in the art understands that the laminar flow of air across the sail generates a substantially greater amount of lift to the sail than the turbulent flow of air. This lift is beneficial because the sail is an airfoil positioned on its end, which can receive the lift thereby propelling the sailboat forward. This result occurs even when the sailboat is headed in a windward, or upwind, direction.
Furthermore, the windex typically is a small weather vane mounted to the top of the mast. This windex is intended to show the general direction from which the wind is coming.
This windex and the telltales collectively inform the skipper of the wind conditions and allow him to determine how he will trim his sails and propel his sailboat in a desirable direction at a desirable speed. For example, a skipper participating in a sailboat race usually trims his sails for receiving maximum lift and propelling the sailboat at a maximum speed. Unfortunately, however, it can be rather difficult to see the telltales in dimly lit conditions, e.g. night. Specifically, the skipper may not notice that the telltales are indicating turbulent flow over the sails. For this reason, the skipper may fail to adjust his sails accordingly thereby failing to provide his sails with the maximum possible lift. Therefore, the sailboat may not be traveling at its maximum speed. This result can be especially disadvantageous during sailboat races.
One proposed solution requires that one or more hand-held flashlights illuminate the telltales of the sail. In particular, one or more crewpersons can each hold a flashlight to illuminate the telltales. A drawback of this proposed solution is that the crewperson holding the flashlight typically cannot perform other duties while illuminating the telltales. Moreover, even if the crewperson can perform other duties, he can become distracted with holding the flashlight and consequently perform his other duties inadequately.
It is therefore highly desirable to provide a flashlight mounting apparatus that allows for improved visibility of the wind indicators in poorly lit conditions and also eliminates the need for a crewperson to hold the flashlight.
The present invention provides a flashlight mounting apparatus for securing a flashlight to a support member of a sailboat. The flashlight mounting apparatus includes a boat clamping mechanism for selectively attaching the flashlight mounting apparatus to the support member of the sailboat. This boat clamping mechanism can be slidably or rotatably adjusted on the support member. Furthermore, the flashlight mounting apparatus includes a flashlight clamping mechanism that is coupled to the boat clamping mechanism. This flashlight clamping mechanism is intended to hold the flashlight for illuminating a dimly lit portion of the sailboat. Also, this flashlight clamping mechanism can be rotatably adjusted relative to the boat clamping mechanism.
One advantage of the present invention is that a flashlight mounting apparatus has been provided that can improve visibility of the wind indicators, e.g. telltales, of a sailboat thereby allowing for the operation of the sailboat in poorly lit conditions.
Another advantage of the present invention is that a flashlight mounting apparatus has been provided that secures a flashlight in a desired position so as to eliminate the need for an individual to hold the flashlight in the desired position.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is that a flashlight mounting apparatus has been provided that is adjustable in various directions of motion thereby allowing a flashlight mounted therein to be aimed in a variety of directions as desired.
Other advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon considering the following detailed description and appended claims, and upon reference to the accompanying drawings.